Lewes Pelagic

Had this trip planned for a long time coming. Thought I was gonna get this as a birthday or christmas gift from the missus at some point. Nope never happened, got a pair of socks instead! So when the alert came out that only a couple of spots for the Lewes pelagic were left I seized the opportunity by its neck and signed up. Friday evening I packed my stuff, drove to Delaware and boarded the boat by 10pm . The sea was fairly choppy that night which made taking a piss fun but trying to sleep or not puke not so much. By 5am we reached a sea depth of around 6000ft past the continental shelf and it was time to get cracking with the knacking. The light wasn't great at the crack of dawn, but the first birds we spotted were Wilson's Storm Petrel, Leach's Storm Petrel and later Band-rumped Storm Petrels. We dipped on White-faced Storm Petrel on this trip. Cory's Shearwaters were the second most common bird on the trip and easily seen as were Audubon's Shearwaters. Bonus bird was a single Greater Shearwater, which only provided short views. When Paul yelled Jaeger, Jaeger I knew it might be time for another lifer and sure enough, Long-tailed Jaeger. Good views for everybody. Oohs and aahs were soon heard on board when someone spotted the spray of a whale. A beautiful fin whale breached the water and gave great views, a real crowd pleaser. Now forget about that petty dolphin shit - this was a real Cetacean spectacle.

OK, it's already Wednesday and I can't wait to head out to Blue Mash this weekend. Warblers are moving through, they better make stop at the Mash!

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